Review: Fire Emblem Heroes

The mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes, has been gaining more popularity lately as more fans, new and old alike, are joining in as updates continue to come in. It has improved greatly since it first came out, so I thought it would be a perfect time to review it. I’ve been playing Heroes a lot ever since they released the special characters voted on from the Choose Your Legends event. So, let’s get started!

Review: 7.00/10

Story

Since this is not a traditional Fire Emblem game, there is not much of a story, but it does offer an excuse as to why and how characters from different kingdoms and times can come together. You (or the default name, Kiran) are actually starring in Heroes as the Summoner who is brought to the Askran Kingdom by Anna to help defend them in the fight against the Emblian Empire. Alfonse and Sharena are new protagonists in the world of Heroes while Veronica serves as the main antagonist.

Besides the main campaign, there are also paralogues that mostly offer a bit more to the story while showing off the newest fighters added to the game. Some characters are only available for a limited time, so you’ll need many orbs to summon them – making these quests one of the best ways to obtain orbs.

Gameplay

Similar to the formula, this is still a turn-based strategy game where you set out with a team(s) of four against your foes on a small grid that result in fast matches.

The basic weapon triangle sticks around (Swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords), but with it also comes color advantages and disadvantages that’ll affect mages as well (Red beats green, green beats blue, and blue beats red). The only ones who are not affected are ‘colorless’ units such as healers and archers. I think this version is great as it is quick and simple for people playing on the go.

I mentioned the main and side campaigns, but there are other modes: Training Tower, Arena/Arena Assault, Tempest Trials, Special Maps, and the Voting Gauntlet. Some of them have different rules and difficulties, however the gameplay is about the same as described above.

In order to be competitive and otherwise keep up with everything else, you’ll need to build up strong teams. It can be intimidating at first, especially with the relatively new “Inherit Skill” where you can sacrifice characters to pass on some of their skills and/or weapons to others. If you’re only doing free-to-play (or F2P) like I am, it can be difficult, but it is doable and enjoyable unlike most mobile games where you are inevitably outmatched in both strength and frustration.

Fire Emblem Heroes is actually generous when it comes to offering in-game items as long as you at least log in everyday. For example, there are often celebrations that give you two orbs a day over a small period of time. Characters are sometimes given away or earned for free if you beat certain challenges. Right now, you can participate in the “Brave Heroes” event where you can pick one (5-star!) of the four most popular characters (Lucina, Roy, Ike, and Lyn) for free as thanks for everyone’s support until September 14th if I remember right.

Music

You’ll mostly hear the new music made for Fire Emblem Heroes, which is good, but you’ll sometimes become nostalgic if you are a long-time fan when tunes brought from previous Fire Emblem games turn on, which are amazing. The track for summoning is one of the best out of the new soundtrack.

Final Note

I recommend Fire Emblem Heroes. It is fun whether you are just trying to past the time or aiming to obtain the highest score. The game is free to download and you never have to spend any real money if you don’t want to. There are still some problems I have with Heroes, like how the time limits for summoning banners don’t always feel long enough, but otherwise it is great.

For advice, YouTube is a good place to start as many provide helpful videos with recommendations on what are the best builds, what skills and characters you should look for, and so on.